Ready Meals Shipping

Abstract

A ready-meal shipping container includes: a housing comprising a plurality of walls bounding an interior cavity and a food-tray-retention assembly. The food-tray-retention assembly includes a plurality of racks arranged in a stacked configuration within the interior cavity of the housing, and an elongated sleeve aligned with the racks.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to containers for facilitating the shipping of ready meals.

BACKGROUND

Ready-to-eat meals (“ready meals”) are pre-cooked measured food portions. Cooled (e.g., frozen) ready meals may require nothing more than rethermalization (e.g., reheating) before serving. In many cases, the pre-cooked food is stored in modular food trays sealed with a removable covering film. The modular food trays are often conveniently designed to facilitate both reheating (e.g., via microwave or conventional ovens), when required, and serving. Traditionally, ready meals have been sold primarily at retail outlets (e.g., grocery stores). However, in recent years, on-demand food preparation services have entered the market, providing ready meals for home order (e.g., via shipping services).

SUMMARY

In one or more aspects of the present disclosure, a ready-meal shipping container includes: a housing including a plurality of walls bounding an interior cavity; and a food-tray-retention assembly. The food-tray-retention assembly includes: a plurality of racks arranged in a stacked configuration within the interior cavity of the housing, each of the racks including one or more discrete bounded cells for receiving modular food trays; and an elongated sleeve aligned with the racks and configured to receive a temperature control member in a position to promote heat transfer between the temperature control member and modular food trays received in the cells. Each of the racks is configured and arranged within the interior cavity such that, during shipping operations, the modular food trays are retained in a fixed position relative to each other, the walls of the housing, and the elongated sleeve.

In one or more aspects of the present disclosure, a ready-meal shipping container includes: a housing including a plurality of walls bounding an interior cavity; and a food-tray-retention assembly. The food-tray-retention assembly includes at least one rack located within the interior cavity of the housing, the rack including one or more discrete bounded cells for receiving modular food trays; and an elongated sleeve positioned adjacent the rack and configured to receive a temperature control member in a position to promote heat transfer between the temperature control member and modular food trays received in the cells. The housing further includes a non-planar gable structure enclosing a top portion of the interior cavity.

In one or more aspects of the present disclosure, a packaged ready-meal assembly includes: a housing including a plurality of walls bounding an interior cavity; and at least one rack located within the interior cavity of the housing, the rack having a planar surface defining one or more discrete openings; one or more food trays containing pre-cooked food and positioned in the one or more openings and held spaced from one another by the rack; and an elongated sleeve spanning the rack and positioning a cooled substance in spaced relation to the one or more food trays.

In one or more of the above-described aspects, the housing further includes a non-planar gable structure enclosing a top portion of the interior cavity. In one or more of the above-described aspects, the gable structure includes an upstanding ridge spanning at least a portion of the length of the housing. In one or more of the above-described aspects, the ridge extends to a maximum height that is at least about 10% of the overall height of the housing. In one or more of the above-described aspects, the ridge extends to a maximum height that is between about 15% and 45% of the overall height of the housing. In one or more of the above-described aspects, the ridge extends to a maximum height that is about 40% of the overall height of the housing. In one or more of the above-described aspects, the upstanding ridge defines a handhold aperture therethrough. In one or more of the above-described aspects, the gable structure further includes a pair of upstanding panels located proximate opposing ends of the ridge. In one or more of the above-described aspects, each of the panels includes a slot opening for receiving a corresponding end of the ridge.

In one or more of the above-described aspects, the housing, the racks, and the sleeve are manufactured from a recyclable material.

In one or more of the above-described aspects, each of the discrete cells defines a rounded rectangular shape.

In one or more of the above-described aspects, at least one of the discrete bounded cells of a rack located immediately above the sleeve includes a throughhole aperture to expose a bottom portion of the food tray received therein to the elongated sleeve. In one or more of the above-described aspects, at least one of the modular food trays is supported in one of the racks, such that the bottom surface of the tray is suspended at a distance from the elongated sleeve.

In one or more of the above-described aspects, the shipping container further includes a plurality of insulators positioned between the walls of the housing and the food-tray-retention assembly. In one or more of the above-described aspects, at least one of the insulators includes a cushioned pad encased in insulating material.

In one or more of the above-described aspects, the sleeve is positioned between adjacent racks in the stacked configuration.

In one or more of the above-described aspects, the sleeve is positioned immediately on top of the topmost rack in the stacked configuration.

In one or more of the above-described aspects, each of the racks includes a face panel extending across the space between two opposing side walls, and the cells include apertures bounded by surface material of the face panel.

In one or more of the above-described aspects, the temperature control member includes a cooling element located within an interior space of the sleeve.

In one or more of the above-described aspects, at least one of the modular food trays includes a main body and a lip extending outwardly from the main body, and the main body is received within an open space of one of the cells of one of the racks, with the lip overhanging a surface of the rack between adjacent cells.

In one or more of the above-described aspects, each of the racks consists essentially of a single contiguous planar blank folded into a three dimensional structure.

In one or more of the above-described aspects, the housing consists essentially of a single contiguous planar blank folded into a three dimensional structure.

In one or more of the above-described aspects, the sleeve is exposed to a surface of each of the one or more food trays.

In one or more of the above-described aspects, the sleeve is located in a position to promote heat transfer between the cooled substance and the one or more food trays via natural convection current.

The details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1C are perspective, side and front views of an example ready-meal shipping container housing with the gable structure of the housing in a closed position.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the housing shown in FIGS. 1A-1C with the gable structure in an opened condition.

FIG. 3 is a top view of an example ready-meal shipping container packed with modular ready meals.

FIGS. 4A-4D are perspective, top, side and bottom views of a first example food-tray-retention assembly.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second example food-tray-retention assembly.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings may indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure generally relates to shipping containers for facilitating the shipping of ready meals disposed in module food trays. One or more aspects of the present disclosure are drawn from an awareness that ready meals featuring non-frozen food portions provide a substantially superior product in the eyes of consumers (e.g., better taste, presentation and nutrition) as compared to frozen food. Thus, a shipping container in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure may be configured to transport ready meals at a sustained chilled (but not frozen) temperature or at a sustained serving temperature. As used herein, the term “chilled temperature” is intended to mean that the food portions are maintained at a cool temperature above freezing (e.g., a temperature between about 40° F. and about 32° F.); and the term “serving temperature” is intended to mean that the food portions are maintained at a warm temperature of at least about 140° F.

One or more aspects of the present disclosure are drawn from a further awareness that the reheating of chilled ready meals via stovetop or conventional oven tends to provide a superior consumer product as compared to reheating by microwave. However, given a choice, many consumers may choose to microwave ready meals merely as a matter of convenience. To drive the consumer towards conventional oven heating, the modular trays containing the chilled food portions can be manufactured including a non-microwavable material, such sheetform aluminum foil or other appropriate metals, as opposed to microwavable plastic or paper. The high heat conductivity of the metalized trays may also be advantageous for facilitating heat transfer (e.g., heating or cooling) of the food portions contained therein during transport within the shipping container. The metalized trays may be particularly delicate and prone to bruising during bulk shipping due to the relatively thin walls of the structure combined with the pliable, non-elastic nature of the materials and the relative softness of the non-frozen food. Accordingly, in some embodiments, a ready-meal shipping container includes a food-tray-retention assembly including multiple racks appropriately configured to retain a plurality of modular food trays in an effectively isolated condition during shipping operations. Further, in some embodiments, a ready-meal shipping container includes a housing featuring a non-planar gable structure enclosing the top portion of an interior cavity containing the modular food trays. As discussed below, the gable structure is appropriately designed to inhibit service persons from mishandling the read-meal shipping container during shipping operations.

Referring first to FIGS. 1A-1C, a ready-meal shipping container 100 includes a housing 102 featuring a base 106 and a gable structure 108. The base 106 and the gable structure 108 define the bounds of a vacant interior cavity 105. In this example, the base 106 includes a substantially flat floor 110, two opposing elongated planar side walls 112, a front wall 114, and a rear wall 116. The front wall 114 and the rear wall 116 extend between the edges of the side walls 112, forming the rectangular-shaped base 106. The thickness of the walls and floor of the base 106 provide sufficient strength to carry a plurality of modular food trays (e.g., six food trays) and a food-tray-retention assembly for holding the trays (see FIGS. 3 and 4A-4D). For instance, in some embodiments, one or more of the walls have a thickness of between about 0.06 inch and 0.25 inch (e.g., about 0.12 inch). In some embodiments, one or more walls of the base 106 are substantially thicker than what is required to provide the necessary weight carrying capacity for transporting the modular food trays contained therein. The added thickness of the walls may provide an auxiliary measure of insulation for maintaining the modular food trays at a desired temperature.

The gable structure 108 encloses the top portion of the interior cavity 105. As noted above, the gable structure 108 is a non-planar construction designed to inhibit service persons from mishandling the ready-meal shipping container 100 in a way that may damage the delicate modular food trays contained therein. In this example, the gable structure 108 includes multiple components that project vertically upward from the topmost edges of the base 106 to create the non-planar construction. In particular, we have found that the particular configuration (e.g., shapes and sizes) of the components shown and described herein tends to inhibit service persons from placing the ready-meal shipping container 100 in an improper orientation (e.g., upside down) and from stacking other packages on top of the shipping container 100.

In this example, the gable structure 108 includes two roof panels 118, two gable panels 120, and two retention panels 122. With the gable structure 108 in a closed condition, as illustrated in FIGS. 1A-1C, each of the roof panels 118 extend inward along a direction of the width “W” (see FIG. 1A) of the housing 102 from the top edge of the opposing side walls 112. In some embodiments, the width of the housing 102 is between about 10 inches and 14 inches (e.g., about 12 inches). As shown, the roof panels 118 meet near the center of the housing 102, forming a substantially flat closed lid to the base 106. In some implementations, the lay-flat nature of the roof panels 118 when the gable structure 108 is closed can be particularly advantageous because it preserves the rectangular shape of interior cavity 105, making the housing 102 easier to pack snugly with insulation (see FIG. 3).

The gable panels 120 are pressed together along the seam where the roof panels 118 meat to form an upstanding ridge 124, two locking tabs 126 extending vertically upward the opposing ends of the ridge 124, and a handhold opening 128 near the center of the ridge 124. In this example, the ridge 124 extends lengthwise to span the entire length “L” (see FIG. 1A) of the housing 102. In some embodiments, the length of the housing 102 is between about 18 inches and 30 inches (e.g., about 24 inches). In some embodiments, the ridge 124 extends across at least about 50% of the length of the housing 102 (e.g., between about 70% and about 90%). In this example, the ridge 124 has a semi-elliptical shape in the lengthwise direction of the housing 102. However, other appropriate shapes are also contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1C, the semi-elliptical ridge 124 extends upwards from the roof panels 118 to a maximum height “h” near the center of the housing 102. In some embodiments, the maximum height of the ridge is between about 0.5 inch and 5 inches (e.g., between about 2 inches and about 4 inches, such as about 3.5 inches). In some embodiments, the maximum height of the ridge 124 is at least about 10% of the overall height “H” (see FIG. 1C) of the housing 102 (e.g., between about 15% and about 45%, such as about 25% or about 40%). In some embodiments, the height of the housing 102 is between about 7 inches and 11 inches (e.g., about 9 inches).

With the gable structure 108 in the closed condition, the locking tabs 126 of the gable panels 120 are received by the slot openings 130 (see FIG. 2) of the retention panels 122, which are folded inward in the lengthwise direction of the housing 102 towards the ridge 124. The locking tabs 126 engage the edges of the slot openings 130 to inhibit the gable panels 120, and therefore the roof panels 118, from being inadvertently pulled apart to expose the interior cavity 105 of the housing 102 (e.g., when a user lifts the housing 102 by grasping the ridge 124 via the handhold opening 128). To open the gable structure 108, as shown in FIG. 2, a user can press down on the gable panels 120 (or the roof panels 118, which are coupled to the gable panels 120 in this example) to disengage the locking tabs 126 from the slot openings 130 of the retention panels 122, and peal back the retention panels 122 to release the gable panels 120.

In some embodiments, the housing 102 is formed by appropriately folding a contiguous and generally flat blank, and securing the blank in the folded condition (e.g., via mechanical fasteners or adhesive). The blank may include indented fold lines or seams to facilitate assembly of the housing 102. In some embodiments, one or more components of the housing 102 can be made from a recyclable material, such as commercial grade corrugated cardboard, paperboard and/or recyclable fibers or plastics.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the interior cavity 105 of the housing 102 can be packed with a shipping load including a food-tray-retention assembly 200 supporting a plurality of modular food trays 300 and a plurality of insulators 400 at least partially surrounding the food-tray-retention assembly 200. In this example, the insulators 400 include thermal-rated box liners featuring a soft cushioning pad encased within metalized sleeves. During shipping operations, the padding material may at least partially absorb and dissipate shock and impact loads, as well as prolonged vibrations. In some embodiments, the padding material includes a shock absorbing foam (e.g., polyurethane foam). However, various other types of insulators are also contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure (e.g., metal-encased polystyrene or Styrofoam).

As shown in FIGS. 4A-4D, a first example food-tray-retention assembly 200 includes an upper rack 202a and a lower rack 202b arranged in a stacked configuration with an elongated sleeve 204. As described below, the racks 202a, 202b are appropriately configured to carry one or more modular food trays (e.g., food trays 300). In some implementations, stacking the racks of the food-tray-retention assembly allows a plurality of food trays (six trays in the illustrated examples) to be packed in a housing (e.g., the housing 102) with a structurally sound length to width aspect ratio (e.g., a length to width aspect ratio of at most about 4:1). For example, if the housing is too long, it may be structurally weak near the middle when loaded with food trays, and therefore become compromised during shipping operations. In this example, the sleeve 204 is sandwiched between the racks 202a, 202b. Similar to the housing 102, the racks 202a, 202b and the sleeve 204 may be formed by appropriately folding a contiguous and generally flat blank. With all of the structural elements of the ready-meal shipping container 100 being constructible from generally flat blanks, the constituent pieces can be readily manufactured and shipped in bulk for remote assembly.

Each of the racks 202a, 202b includes a face panel 206, two opposing side walls 208, two support rails 209, a front panel 210 and a rear panel 211. The support rails 209 extend partially inward (e.g., by about 1.5 inches) in the widthwise direction of the racks 202a, 202b from the bottom edge of the side walls 208. The side walls 208, front panel 210, and rear panel 211 extend downward from the face panel 206 to partially bound a bottomless interior space 212. Thus, the cells 214 of the upper rack 202a are exposed to the underlying sleeve 204 carrying the support rails 209.

The face panel 206 of the racks 202a, 202b includes a plurality of discrete cells 214. As shown, the cells 214 are located at regular intervals along the length of the racks 202a, 202b so that the weight of the food trays 300 retained therein is uniformly distributed. In this example, the face panel 206 of each rack 202a, 202b includes three discrete cells 214. However, other configurations are also contemplated within the present disclosure (e.g., the racks may include more—e.g., four, five or six—cells or less—e.g., two or one—cells, and/or the respective racks may include a different number of cells). The cells 214 are formed as throughhole apertures bounded by the surrounding surface material of the face panel 206. Thus, the cells 214 of the upper rack 202a are exposed to the underlying sleeve 204 which carries the support rails 209 of the rack 202a.

In this example, each of the cells 214 defines a rounded rectangular shape, appropriately sized to accommodate the contour of the modular food trays 300. In some embodiments, the cells 214 have a length of between about 6 inches and about 10 inches (e.g., about 8 inches), and width of between about 3 inches and about 7 inches (e.g., about 5 inches), and the radius of the rounded corners is between about 0.12 inch and about 1 inch (e.g., about 0.5 inch). The food trays 300 fit relatively snug within the cells 214 such that lateral movement is inhibited. Thus, the food trays 300 are effectively isolated from one another and from the walls of the base 106 of the housing 102. As shown in FIG. 3, each of the food trays 300 includes an outer lip 302 extending beyond the respective cell 214 to overhang the surrounding surface of the face panel 206 when the main body of the tray 302 has been inserted into the open space of the cell 214. Thus, the food trays 300 are at least partially supported in the racks 202a, 202b by the lip 302 bearing on the surface of the face panel 206. In some embodiments, the height “Hr” (see FIG. 4A) of the racks 202a, 202b, as defined by the side walls 208, is greater than the height of the food trays 300, such that the food trays 300 entirely supported on the surface of the face panel 206 as described above, such that the food trays 300 effectively “float” above the surface carrying the support rails 209 of the respective rack 202a, 202b. This configuration may be particularly advantageous during shipping operations, because the delicate body of the food trays 300 can be vertically isolated from surrounding structures (e.g., the sleeve 204) which may cause bruising if bumped. This configuration may be further advantageous, because the main body of the food trays 300 below the outwardly projecting lip 302 remain free of any contact with the racks 202a, 202b, which may further inhibit potential bruising. In some embodiments, the height of the racks 202a, 202b is between about 0.5 inch and 5 inches (e.g., between about 1 inch and about 4 inches, such as about 2 inches).

The elongated sleeve 204 is a rectangular shaped construction with open ends, featuring an upper surface 215 and a lower surface 216 connected by opposing side walls 218. The bounded interior space 220 of the sleeve 204 is substantially void, designed to receive an appropriate temperature control member (not shown). The temperature control member is designed to create heat transfer (e.g., conductive or convective heat transfer) with the food trays carried in the racks. In various embodiments, the temperature control member may include any suitable type of cooling element and/or heating element. In some embodiments, the cooling element may include one or more ice packs, ice blankets, ice pouches, endothermic cold packs and/or refrigerant gel packs. In some embodiments, the cooling element may include a vessel containing dry ice. In some embodiments, the heating element may include one or more exothermic hot packs and/or a battery-powered heating pad. The positioning of the temperature control member within the sleeve 204 located between the racks 202a, 202b promotes heat transfer between the temperature control member and the food trays 300 disposed in the cells 214. In this example, the temperature control member draws in heat from the bottom of the trays 300 located in the upper rack 202a and from the top of the trays 300 located in the lower rack 202b.

FIG. 5 illustrates a second example food-tray-retention assembly 200′, which, similar to the first example food-tray-retention assembly 200 of FIGS. 4A-4D, includes an upper rack 202a′ and a lower rack 202b′ arranged in a stacked configuration with an elongated sleeve 204′. However, in this example, the racks 202a′, 202b′ are stacked in an immediately adjacent arrangement, with the upper rack 202a′ situated directly on top of the lower rack 202b′. The elongated sleeve 204′ is stacked on top of the upper rack 202a′, and directly exposed to the trays carried therein. This configuration may be particularly advantageous in various implementations where the temperature control member includes a cooling element, because it tends to increase the efficiency of convective heat transfer. For example, positioning a cooling element at the top layer of the food-tray-retention assembly may form a natural convection current within the interior cavity of the housing that enhances the cooling capacity of the temperature control member.

The use of terminology such as “front,” “rear,” “top,” “bottom,” “above,” and “below” throughout the specification and claims is for describing the relative positions of various components of the ready-meal shipping container and other elements described herein. Similarly, the use of any horizontal or vertical terms to describe elements is for describing relative orientations of the various components of the ready-meal shipping container and other elements described herein. Unless otherwise stated explicitly, the use of such terminology does not imply a particular position or orientation of the ready-meal shipping container or any other components relative to the direction of the Earth gravitational force, or the Earth ground surface, or other particular position or orientation that the ready-meal shipping container or other elements may be placed in during operation, manufacturing, and transportation.

A number of embodiments of the invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventions. As one example, while the illustrated examples feature a food-tray-retention assembly including two racks arranged in various stacked arrangements, other suitable configurations and arrangements are also contemplated within the present disclosure. As one example, the elongated sleeve could be positioned below the racks (e.g., if the temperature control member includes a heating element). As another example, a suitable food-tray-retention assembly may include multiple sleeves positioned between different sets of two or more racks; and/or multiple sleeves positioned above or below different sets of two or more racks. Alternatively, a suitable food-tray-retention assembly may include a single rack and a single sleeve, or a single rack with multiple sleeves, where the sleeves sandwich the single rack in the stacked configuration, a single rack with no sleeve, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A ready-meal shipping container, comprising: a housing comprising a plurality of walls bounding an interior cavity; anda food-tray-retention assembly, comprising:a plurality of racks arranged in a stacked configuration within the interior cavity of the housing, each of the racks including one or more discrete bounded cells for receiving modular food trays; andan elongated sleeve aligned with the racks and configured to receive a temperature control member in a position to promote heat transfer between the temperature control member and modular food trays received in the cells,wherein each of the racks is configured and arranged within the interior cavity such that, during shipping operations, the modular food trays are retained in a fixed position relative to each other, the walls of the housing, and the elongated sleeve.

2. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 1, wherein the housing further comprises a non-planar gable structure enclosing a top portion of the interior cavity.

3. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 2, wherein the gable structure comprises an upstanding ridge spanning at least a portion of the length of the housing.

4. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 3, wherein the ridge extends to a maximum height that is at least about 10% of the overall height of the housing.

5. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 4, wherein the ridge extends to a maximum height that is between about 15% and 45% of the overall height of the housing.

6. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 5, wherein the ridge extends to a maximum height that is about 40% of the overall height of the housing.

7. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 3, wherein the upstanding ridge defines a handhold aperture therethrough.

8. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 3, wherein the gable structure further comprises a pair of upstanding panels located proximate opposing ends of the ridge.

9. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 8, wherein each of the panels includes a slot opening for receiving a corresponding end of the ridge.

10. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 1, wherein the housing, the racks, and the sleeve are manufactured from a recyclable material.

11. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 1, wherein each of the discrete cells defines a rounded rectangular shape.

12. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 1, wherein at least one of the discrete bounded cells of a rack located immediately above the sleeve comprises a throughhole aperture to expose a bottom portion of the food tray received therein to the elongated sleeve.

13. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 12, wherein at least one of the modular food trays is supported in one of the racks, such that a bottom surface of the tray is suspended at a distance from the elongated sleeve.

14. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of insulators positioned between the walls of the housing and the food-tray-retention assembly.

15. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 14, wherein at least one of the insulators comprises a cushioned pad encased in insulating material.

16. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 1, wherein the sleeve is positioned between adjacent racks in the stacked configuration.

17. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 1, wherein the sleeve is positioned immediately on top of a topmost rack in the stacked configuration.

18. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 1, wherein each of the racks includes a face panel extending across a space between two opposing side walls, and wherein the cells comprise apertures bounded by surface material of the face panel.

19. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 1, wherein the temperature control member comprises a cooling element located within an interior space of the sleeve.

20. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 1, wherein at least one of the modular food trays comprises a main body and a lip extending outwardly from the main body, and wherein the main body is received within an open space of one of the cells of one of the racks, with the lip overhanging a surface of the rack between adjacent cells.

21. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 1, wherein each of the racks consists essentially of a single contiguous planar blank folded into a three dimensional structure.

22. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 1, wherein the housing consists essentially of a single contiguous planar blank folded into a three dimensional structure.

23. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 1, wherein the sleeve is located in a position to promote heat transfer via natural convection current.

24. A ready-meal shipping container, comprising: a housing comprising a plurality of walls bounding an interior cavity; anda food-tray-retention assembly, comprising:at least one rack located within the interior cavity of the housing, the rack including one or more discrete bounded cells for receiving modular food trays; andan elongated sleeve positioned adjacent the rack and configured to receive a temperature control member in a position to promote heat transfer between the temperature control member and modular food trays received in the cells,wherein the housing further comprises a non-planar gable structure enclosing a top portion of the interior cavity.

25. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 24, wherein the gable structure comprises an upstanding ridge spanning at least a portion of the length of the housing.

26. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 25, wherein the ridge extends to a maximum height that is at least about 10% of the overall height of the housing.

27. The ready-meal shipping container of claim 26, wherein the ridge extends to a maximum height that is about 40% of the overall height of the housing.

28. A packaged ready-meal assembly, comprising: a housing comprising a plurality of walls bounding an interior cavity; andat least one rack located within the interior cavity of the housing, the rack having a planar surface defining one or more discrete openings;one or more food trays containing pre-cooked food and positioned in the one or more openings and held spaced from one another by the rack; andan elongated sleeve spanning the rack and positioning a cooled substance in spaced relation to the one or more food trays.

29. The packaged ready-meal assembly of claim 28, wherein the housing further comprises a non-planar gable structure enclosing a top portion of the interior cavity.

30. The packaged ready-meal assembly of claim 28, wherein the sleeve is exposed to a surface of each of the one or more food trays.

31. The packaged ready-meal assembly of claim 28, wherein the sleeve is located in a position to promote heat transfer between the cooled substance and the one or more food trays via natural convection current.